Douglas Campbell KC
Called to the bar 1993 (England & Wales 1993, Ireland 2021) Took silk 2016 Silk
Practice Areas
Douglas is one of the few silks to excel at both hard and soft IP. His recent cases in the Court of Appeal include Industrial Cleaning Equipment (Southampton) v intelligent Cleaning Holdings Co (trade mark: acquiescence, departure from retained EU law; new defence to passing off); Industrial Cleaning Equipment (Southampton) v intelligent Cleaning Holdings Co (trade mark: acquiescence, departure from retained EU law; new defence to passing off); Interdigital v Lenovo, (patent, 4G/LTE telecoms standard), Warner-Lambert v NHS Scotland and others (damages enquiry on cross-undertaking relating to second medical use patent), Icescape v Ice-World (patent: leading case on infringement under the doctrine of equivalents following the change in the law made by the Supreme Court in Actavis v Lilly); AP Racing v Alcon Components (patent), Frank v Nike (trade mark, upholding interim injunction granted in IPEC), London Taxis v Metrocab (shape trade mark), Comic v Twentieth Century Fox (“Glee” trade mark). His range of work at first instance is even broader: from mobile phone apps (PlanetArt v Photobox) and medical devices (Coloplast v Salts) to pharma patent cases such as Neurim v Teva (interim injunction where patent held valid and infringed in other litigation) and Boehringer Ingelheim v Teva (fifth most commonly prescribed drug on the NHS) to computer software (Alphasharp v ADG Capital Management, a financial trading strategy; Trappit v GBT Travel Services, a travel management tool), computer games (Blizzard v Bossland, copyright in “Overwatch” game; Bethesda v ABT, “Fallout” game, trade mark) to smart trainers (Puma v Nike, trade mark) to champagne and polo (Veuve Clicquot v Polistas, trade mark).
In Court Douglas understands which points appeal to judges and which don’t. He is a fighter when he needs to be and a first class cross-examiner. Out of Court, he is a good team player with a sense of humour. He is highly rated for his inclusive style, and his willingness to educate and motivate the more junior people on the team.
Douglas is a Deputy High Court Judge, and mainly sits in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court, or IPEC (appointed February 2015). He is also a Civil Recorder (appointed October 2010), where he sits mainly in the Central London County Court Chancery List; and a Crime Recorder on the South Eastern Circuit (appointed December 2014). He was a member of the Attorney General’s Panel of Junior Counsel to the Crown from 2010-2015 and acted for and/or advised many Government departments including the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO), the Ministry of Justice, the Home Office, HMRC, the Treasury, and the Cabinet Office. He has acted as an expert witness on UK intellectual property law in US District Court proceedings in the Southern District of New York. He is an in-demand speaker at major national and international IP conferences. For instance in January 2022 he presented 2 sessions on “Developments in Global Patent Law” to panellists from Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, EUIPO, and WIPO as part of a seminar arranged by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore.
He is the Editor of Terrell on the Law of Patents, soon to be published in its 20th edition as the leading practitioner text on UK patent law.
A full list of Douglas’ previous cases can be found on his downloadable CV.
Academic Qualifications and Interests
- Scholarship at Hertford College, Oxford University, 1984-88. First Class honours in Chemistry with Distinction in Quantum Chemistry; also placed proxime accessit to the Gibbs prize. Turbott University prize for practical work in Organic Chemistry.
- City University, Diploma in Law, awarded top distinction, 1991-92, Inner Temple Major Scholarship, Duke of Edinburgh Scholarship.
- Maadak prize for European Community Competition Law.
- Pegasus Scholar at Mallesons Stephen Jaques, Solicitors, Melbourne, Australia, from November 1996-February 1997.
Personal Interests
- Gap year 1990-91 teaching English in Kagoshima, Japan; awarded brown belt in full-contact karate; prize winner in prefectural karate tournament for best performance, though losing to a former sumo wrestler; passed Japanese Government language proficiency test (6000 words/1000 characters level)
Chambers and Partners, IP: Douglas Campbell KC is a tenacious, talented and quick-witted silk who receives plaudits for his courtroom advocacy and can be relied upon to help protect the intellectual property interests of SMEs. He stands out for his capabilities acting in patent, design right and trade mark infringement disputes. He is also noted for his experience handling proceedings in the IPEC, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.
“Douglas Campbell KC provides strong, strategic advice in a no-nonsense manner which is appreciated by clients. He is strong on his feet and able to grasp issues quickly.”
“Douglas Campbell is an extremely knowledgeable and capable silk. He is very hard-working but also very client-friendly. His experience as a Deputy Judge in the IPEC gives him very good insight.”
“He has a can-do attitude and is prepared to argue difficult points.”
Chambers & Partners, 2024 IP
Chambers and Partners, IT: Douglas Campbell KC’s skill in IP and copyright issues feeds effectively into an IT practice that covers software and hardware disputes, including those involving consumer and professional products, digital media players and automotive technology. He is an experienced adviser in cases involving gaming companies.
“An intelligent and quick-witted purveyor of effective, high-quality advice.”
Chambers & Partners, 2024 IT
MoreLegal 500, IT. ‘A hugely impressive all-rounder and great team player.’
Legal 500, 2024
Legal 500, IP: ‘He is always been a favourite with solicitors and clients. A great advocate, and brilliant on his feet – definitely someone that clients want on their side. He wins cases.’
Legal 500, 2023
Legal 500, IP: Douglas Campbell QC – Three New Square ‘ A formidably experienced advocate. He is robust, determined, very user-friendly and a very good cross-examiner. ’
Legal 500, IT Douglas Campbell QC – Three New Square ‘ Douglas is extremely capable and experienced. He is good with clients, skilled at preparing concise and comprehensive documents and also an excellent advocate. Douglas is a pleasure to work with and is passionate about getting the right results for clients. ’
Legal 500, 2022
“Well respected by clients, he’s intelligent, quick-witted and someone who provides effective, high-quality advice.”
CHAMBERS & PARTNERS, 2023
“Douglas is a tenacious, talented and quick-witted silk who receives plaudits for his courtroom advocacy and can be relied upon to help protect the intellectual property interests of SMEs. He stands out for his capabilities acting in patent, design right and trade mark infringement disputes. He is also noted for his experience handling proceedings in the IPEC, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. ” Strengths: “Douglas is a particularly tenacious and razor-sharp cross-examiner.” “Douglas brings his experience as a deputy judge to bear in looking at a case from all sides.” “He is a fantastic trial advocate, and his cross-examination skills are superb.
Chambers and Partners, IP, 2022
His skill in IP and copyright issues feeds effectively into an IT practice that covers software and hardware disputes, including those involving consumer and professional products, digital media players and automotive technology. He is an experienced adviser in cases involving gaming companies.
Strengths: “He’s excellent, very capable and good on his feet, and his written work is good as well.
Chambers and Partners, IT, 2022
Legal 500, IP, 2020: ‘A very hard worker and brilliant trial advocate, who is good with judges and excellent for cross-examination.’
Legal 500, IT, 2020: ‘A very strong barrister that I would recommend highly. Adept at cross-examination, interesting, a font of knowledge, and runs rings around the opposition.’
Legal 500, 2020
“He is an absolute master of IP and is incredibly bright and experienced.” “He is a first-rate litigator – passionate, persuasive and a pleasure to work with.”
CHAMBERS AND PARTNERS, 2020
Intellectual Property: “He is intelligent and quick-witted and provides effective and high-quality advice. ’”
Information Technology: “He is a class act and a strong advocate.”
LEGAL 500, 2019
Intellectual property: ‘A born litigator. He is passionate and fantastically driven – and he does not take prisoners.’
IT and telecoms (excluding regulatory): ‘An excellent orator who thinks on his feet and is able to skilfully deal with his adversaries.’
LEGAL 500 2018
Intellectual property “He stands out for his capabilities acting in patent, design right and trade mark infringement disputes. He is also noted for his experience handling proceedings in the IPEC, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. “He works alongside our clients, is very commercial and calm and interacts well with the judges. Working with him is a pleasure.”
Information Technology “A solid advocate who is good at written work.” “He is incredibly quick and bright.”
CHAMBERS AND PARTNERS 2018
Intellectual Property “He is exceptional on his feet. A tremendous and pugnacious advocate.” “He is a tenacious and engaging advocate who has a collaborative approach and is excellent with clients.”
Information Technology “Enormously experienced. A real litigator who gives sound commercial advice.”
CHAMBERS UK 2017
Intellectual Property – “He is intellectually very capable and tactically extremely sound”.
IT and telecoms – ‘A user-friendly and helpful silk”.
LEGAL 500 2017